Art of using music-product congruence and lyrics in radio-ads

PurposeThis research aims to exhibit the impacts of vocal music vs instrumental music on ad-recall from the perspectives of attention and elaboration.Design/methodology/approachA 2 music-product congruence (congruence vs incongruence) × 2 music lyrics (lyrics vs no lyrics) between-subject measures design is used. 180 management students participated in the study. A 2 × 2 between-subjects ANOVA is used to test the hypotheses.FindingsResults showed that the instrumental rendition of an ad-song prompted higher ad-recall over the vocal variant. The instrumental rendition provoked the subjects to create the verses or lyrics in their minds, prompting superior recall. Further, it was found that a music-product congruent ad resulted into higher ad-recall than an incongruent ad. Moreover, for a congruent ad condition, the instrumental version of ad-song resulted into higher ad-recall than the vocal version of ad-song. On the other hand, for an incongruent ad condition, the instrumental version as well as the vocal version of ad-song resulted into same level of ad-recall.Research limitations/implicationsThe study offers important implications for marketers and advertisers in terms of effective ad-designing and execution considering lyrics and music-product congruence as important factors in the context of radio advertising.Originality/valueSince very little research has been done focusing on the combined effect of music lyrics and music-product congruence relationship on ad-recall from attention and elaboration perspectives, this paper scores as a pioneering study of its kind in India.